152 HORSE-SHOES, ETC. 



certainly give a great impulse to the former method. Finished 

 shoes are supplied by one or more German firms, and we 

 should imagine some of our English firms might undertake 

 the same business with success. 



Every method of shoeing, even the best, produces numerous 

 bad results, such as contraction, diminished horn production, 

 etc., as well as other more recondite changes. Such results 

 become most noticeable when the horse is worked on hard 

 pavements, and are less serious on soft, heavy ground. They 

 are aggravated by slipping on smooth surfaces and by shocks 

 of all kinds. The many small but unavoidable effects of 

 shoeing form a prolific cause of disease in the limbs. This 

 fact has long been recognised, and attempts have been made 

 to remedy it by changes in the method of shoeing. Each of 

 such changes removes one or more evils. One of the most 

 important was the attempt to produce an easier, softer method 

 of going, which should both prevent slipping and diminish the 

 shock to the limb. Accordingly, soft, elastic materials have 

 been employed, either to entirely replace iron, or to be used in 

 combination with it. 



In consequence, pads composed of rubber, plaited rope, 

 leather, wood, etc., have been provided to cover varying pro- 

 portions of the hoof. These will be further considered in a 

 special chapter. 



The reasons why many of these novelties have only a fleet- 

 ing existence are, that they do not sufficiently fit the hoof, 

 and because they will not bear the necessary warming or 

 working. As the hoof should never be formed to fit the shoe, 

 but the shoe to fit the hoof (due regard being had to the 

 distribution of weight), the ground of this failure is fairly 

 apparent. 



